Surprise Birthday
by Winged Scythe
Summary: For Jediempress. Sephiroth doesn't mind birthdays, but he hates his own. This year, though, things will be different.


Written for Jediempress' birthday, which was last Sunday. I thought she could use more non-psycho Sephiroth.

**Warnings:** According to Jedi, it's cute. That deserves a warning all on its own. And this is partially set in her version of KH, so if something seem (un)familiar, that's why.

* * *

They were planning something.

Sephiroth was absolutely certain of this fact. For the last two weeks, he had seen Sora and Riku constantly huddled together, discussing in low tones. That in and of itself wasn't so strange, as they liked to keep themselves involved around Radiant Garden and their home world, but there had also been a few times when he had noticed them whispering with Tifa, Yuffie, and occasionally Cid and Leon. Sephiroth assumed Cloud was involved as well, but the two of them were still on rocky ground and he preferred to avoid his once archenemy to keep tensions at a minimum.

Sephiroth didn't like not knowing what was going on, especially if it involved him. And he knew it did – anytime he had seen the Restoration members talking to each other, they would stop the moment they caught sight of him and then instantly jump to a different topic. He couldn't think of any reason why they would be discussing him in such a secretive manner and it was beginning to unsettle him greatly. As unfamiliar as he was with normal, expected human behavior, even he understood that it was generally a bad thing when others were talking behind one's back.

They had been acting strange around him as well. Whenever he was at the bar, Tifa would press different drinks on him, asking which ones he liked more or if he liked that particular combination better (he didn't like whiskey or beer, but a scotch on the rocks was pleasant). Sora asked him about everything from his favorite color (silver) to his favorite dessert (chocolate chip cookies, and no, he was not obsessed) to what time of the day he liked best (early morning, and why is this important?). Riku, too, was acting differently around him, insisting that he make up a list of items that he would like to own that weren't too expensive (the list had been considerably short).

Overall, it was confusing. Nothing Sephiroth was able to think of would warrant such odd behavior, and he had gone over many different possibilities. The only logical course of action he could take was to wait until whatever was being planned was finished, but the longer he did so, the more ill at ease he felt. He had been trained to know everything that was going on around him so that he could act at a moment's notice should something go wrong, but now he was being left behind in the dark, to borrow one of Riku's phrases. It made him feel vulnerable, open, and Sephiroth did not like that feeling at all.

It was the only thing he could do, though.

*~*~*~*

Sephiroth awoke on the morning of June fourth and promptly wished he were still asleep. If there was a single day in the year that he wished he could just skip over, it was this day. For as long as he could remember, no matter what the year, the day had always brought forth old pains caused by longing and resentment, and the pains had not gotten better as time went on. He knew that for other people, such a day was supposed to happy and joyous, filled with caring people and smiles and laughter, a day to celebrate a person's existence. However, for him, there had only ever been coldness, no form of acknowledgment at all, not even by those who had raised him.

Sephiroth liked birthdays. He hated his own.

With a heavy sigh, he threw the sheets to one side and pulled himself out of bed, resigning himself to the fact that he would achieve nothing if he simply hid away. The clothes he planned on wearing were folded neatly on the dresser top, but Sephiroth grabbed a towel instead and walked to the bathroom to start the water for a shower. He followed the same routine every morning and he found comfort in the monotony on his bad days, but thoughts of his birthday haunted him to the point that he had to think about them or risk doing something rather unpleasant.

Besides himself, Hojo was the only other person that had ever known what day he had been born – not even Angeal and Genesis had known, though they had been his closest and only friends for several years. There were times when he wondered if it was a good thing that no one else knew, since it meant that no one would be bothered to find him a gift or wish what could very easily be false cheer (he might have once been considered a hero, but that didn't mean everyone had liked him). More often than not, though, when his birthday rolled around he wondered what it would like to experience what everyone else did. Would there be a favorite meal cooked for him, like the way he knew Sora's mother would do on his birthday? Would there be presents from the people around him, or even just cards wishing him a good day? Would the people he was with most gather with him to simply talk and watch as he opened the cards and presents, and to share what food might be there?

An all-too familiar ache stirred in Sephiroth's chest, and with a rough noise he forced himself back to reality and away from what-ifs and could-have-beens. He quickly washed his hair and rinsed off, focusing solely on those tasks lest his mind try to wander once more, and when he finished he toweled off with more force than was strictly needed. Clothing he put on with little thought before he set to the task of untangling his hair, which always managed to become full of knots through the course of the night and morning shower. His scalp stung as he roughly combed through the multitude of tangles, but as long at it kept him from thinking, he didn't care.

He didn't care.

But he did.

It wasn't _fair._

Someone knocked on the front door, interrupting Sephiroth's thoughts as they once again began to stray down paths best not traveled, and he stood and walked from his room to answer it. His house wasn't very large as he was the only one to live in it, so it took him under a minute to reach and open the door, revealing a widely grinning Sora and passive Riku. Sephiroth knew his half-brother was fighting the urge to look smug.

"…May I help you two?"

Sora nodded. "We need you to come with us to Tifa's bar."

"And may I inquire as to why?" He doubted it had anything to do with lending a hand, as the young woman expertly managed the place even when it was crowded.

"One of the fuses shorted out, but Tifa isn't sure if it's actually just one or if the whole thing went," said Riku. "Cid's doing something for Leon, so she wanted to know if you could take a look."

"I will." He always dressed completely in the mornings, down to whatever shoes he planned on needing, so Sephiroth simply stepped past the two teenagers and closed the front door behind him before giving them a curt nod to lead the way. A grin passed between Sora and Riku that he did not miss, but given the bond the two shared he didn't think much of it. Even just attempting to try and follow Sora's trains of thought was difficult in and of itself, but adding in Riku and his notoriously steel-bolted mind made things close to impossible.

And it was only checking over a fuse box, so why should he be bothered with the way they were acting?

Though it was still early in the morning, a few people were already roaming the streets or opening up shop, and they called out greeting as the trio passed. This surprised Sephiroth slightly, because though he had lived in Radiant Garden long enough for the residents to become familiar with him, he usually only received a small nod in passing. Perhaps the people were finally beginning to accept him.

"Oh, Seph?" Riku suddenly said, turning his head to look at his half-brother as they neared the bar. "How good are you at controlling your reflexes?"

Sephiroth thought over the odd question for a moment. "I suppose it depends upon the reflex and the situation."

Riku and Sora shared a glance. "…What if you were being startled, but in an I-wasn't-expecting-that kind of way and not something's-trying-to-kill-me way?" asked Sora.

"Then I believe I could hold back any reflexes that might result in injury. Why do you need to know?"

"Tifa has a few people staying at the bar," said Riku after another glance with Sora. "We didn't want you to go in and be surprised if someone accidently snuck up on you while you were looking at the fuse box."

The explanation was sketchy and Sephiroth knew better than to believe it was the truth. However, he could think of no reason to try to pry the real information out of the two, and it was unlike either of them to set up a prank that could result in physical injury. It was even more unlikely that they would try to involve him in one as well, after what had happened from the only prank they had tried to pull on him. Sephiroth was not vain enough to say he feared nothing, but he had wisely avoided Leon for several days after that incident.

Tifa had set up her bar in a semi-crowded area of the town, in a section that had been exclusively devoted to businesses and shops and not any residences, so that places like hers wouldn't have to worry about noise complaints or staying open too late. She had the only bar on that end of town, but surrounding her were tech and specialty shops that were frequently open later than what their signs proclaimed, if only because the employees had realized they could work on personal projects. The only times that area was ever truly quiet was in the very early morning hours, usually between three and six – otherwise, the sounds of gears whirling or metal clanging provided a constant background noise.

It was no different from any other time before, but Sephiroth could feel the faintest strands of paranoia starting to creep into his body. _Something_ felt distinctly off, to the point that he wanted to summon Masamune and throw up a Dark Aura, but given how relaxed Sora and Riku appeared, he withheld from doing so and resigned himself to accepting the difference. It was when they walked through the bar's front door and into nearly total darkness that Sephiroth figured out what felt wrong.

Before he could react, the lights were thrown on and the entire bar became illuminated, showing that he was indeed right. Covering the span of two tables were several different dishes of food, ranging from pancakes and bacon to a large cake and plate of chocolate chip cookies. On another table, there was a medium-sized pile of brightly wrapped gifts, most of which had a ridiculous ribbon garnish. Hanging on the wall opposite the front door was a large banner proclaiming "Happy Birthday Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth blinked very slowly and eyed the members of the Restoration Committee before turning to look at Riku with a raised eyebrow.

"Little brother lesson number thirty-eight," Riku said with a grin. "Never leave out any files with the words 'Top Secret' written across the front. We will investigate."

"When Riku mentioned your birth date, we all realized that we had never celebrated it," explained Aerith. She was leaning against one of the tables and offered him a small, slightly apologetic smile. "So, Sora suggested that this year we should try to throw you a party to make up for the years before."

Sephiroth once again looked over the group gathered in the room, eyes resting a second longer on Cloud. "And you all agreed to this?"

"Everyone should get to celebrate their birthday," Sora answered. "But Ku and me though it would better if none of us told you, so you wouldn't try to flake out or something."

"I do not 'flake'."

Riku and Yuffie both snorted at the same time. "Sephiroth, anytime someone suggests doing something nice for you, you make some comment about not wasting energy or needing to go through the effort," said Yuffie, rolling her eyes. "That's pretty much the same thing."

"Just accept that we did it," said Riku, "and pretend to look surprised. Or I'll let Sora and Cloud divide the cookies between them so you don't get one."

Cloud actually smirked and inched closer to the plate, winking at Riku.

Sephiroth sighed and silently berated his brother for the underhanded tactic. "Thank you for setting this up."

"You're most welcome."

Yuffie and Tifa grinned widely while Cid lit up a cigarette and Leon nodded. "Since this is your day, what would you like to start with?" asked Tifa. "We can eat first, then open your presents, or we can open the gifts while eating."

Sora chuckled weakly and Yuffie not-so-inconspicuously eyed the two tables of food. Sephiroth couldn't help the small smile that formed. "I've not had breakfast yet, so I believe I would rather eat first."

With a whoop, Yuffie all but dived to the nearest table and began to fill a plate with whatever she could grab. Aerith started to pour drinks into paper cups and set them out of a different table so they wouldn't be knocked over or misplaced, and Tifa carefully began to serve some of the warmer and messier dishes. Soon enough, everyone was eating something and casually talking, and Sephiroth felt a slight wave of contentment wash over him.

Maybe his birthday wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
